This is also a fun way to learn friends' names!
We believe that music expands the mind and bolsters learning. We aim to provide curriculum, visual aids and activities that bring joy and knowledge to young children.
Thursday, August 29, 2019
Monday, August 26, 2019
How To Have a Great Circle Time
Let's talk about how to make an amazing Circle Time in your early childhood classroom! An effective Circle Time at the beginning of the day sets the tone for the rest of the day. So make it great!
Greet Your Students!
There are many "hello" or "welcome" songs are out there and we have used many of them, but this one always resurfaces as a favorite.
Count Classmates
If your class is small, this is a great chance to practice counting. Have the students get out their "counting finger" (pointer finger) and count their classmates to see how many are here.
Routines
Routines are important to young children; they love the predictability of a routine and feel empowered when they know what to expect. Great routine activities include talking about the weather, reviewing the days of the week and months of the year, and talking about the seasons of the year and what season it is now.
WEATHER
Days of the Week Song
(to the tune of Clementine)
There are seven days, there are seven days,
There are seven days in a week.
There are seven days, there are seven days,
There are seven days in a week.
Sunday
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Sunday
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
MONTHS OF THE YEAR
SEASONS OF THE YEAR
Then, if attention permits, end with one or two learning activities. Here are a few ideas. And, remember, that it's OK - and actually a really good idea - to let the kiddos get up and move during these.
Transition
If the students transition to free play or stations after Circle Time, this little rhyme can help with planning and verbal skills.
Bibbidi bobbidi boo!
What are you going to do?
(Point a magic wand at each child and have him tell
you where he is going to play!)
Music
Playing music is a great way to help students transition to a new activity. It serves as a cue of what is going to happen and of the behavior that is expected of them.
Transition Songs
And don't forget to have fun!
Saturday, August 17, 2019
Using Music to Teach Beginning Consonant Sounds
My background is in Early Childhood Special Education and I started my career in Early Intervention, often teaching sweet toddlers how to talk and communicate. I found that using music to teach and practice beginning consonant sounds was an amazing teaching tool.
I've put together some Beginning Consonant Song Cards you can download for free from our Teachers Pay Teachers store. So far "B" and "H" are available, but more will be posted soon so follow our store and snag them as soon as they're up!
To most effectively use these cards to assist with speech and language development, use these tips:
🎵Sing much slower than you're used to.
🎵Be animated!
🎵Let the child choose the song by holding up two picture cards to choose from. Ask, "Do you want bus or bee?" The child can make a choice using the communication level she is working on: eye gaze, pointing, baby sign, any vocalization, beginning sound, word, etc.
🎵Pause before each target word and let the child complete the phrase.
"Row, row, row your _________."
🎵Repeat many times to maximize learning!
Monday, August 12, 2019
How to Use QR Codes to Bring Music to Your Classroom
So what's a QR code anyway? In a nutshell, a QR code is a machine-readable code that is linked to a URL (or to other information). When read by a QR scanner, the device is then sent to the stored URL. QR scanners can be downloaded for free from an app store.
Now let's talk about how you can use QR codes in your classroom, specifically how to use them to bring music into your room.
Download my free list of Transition Songs to get started. While teaching, have your QR scanner ready and when it's time to transition to a new activity, scan the QR code of your song of choice and you will be directed to a YouTube page of the song. Then play it for your students - it's as easy as that! It saves you the time you would use to search for the song yourself or to put in a CD and locate the song.
Musical QR codes can be used in countless ways in the classroom but here are a few ideas:
during circle time (Months of the Year),
for a break during instruction for a quick wiggle song (Shake Your Sillies Out),
as background holiday music (The Monster Mash),
transitions (Clean Up, Clean Up),
Classical music for working (Four Seasons),
to enhance your lessons (The Shape Song).
If you think musical QR codes can enhance YOUR classroom, visit my Teachers Pay Teachers Store and take at look at my QR code compilations!
Happy scanning!
Friday, August 2, 2019
Music, Rhyming and Reading
That's a powerful statement, isn't it?
We also know that exposure to rhyming words is a key part in preparing pre-readers for reading and strengthens the beginning skills of early readers. So when young learners hear rhyming words in music their reading brains are being exercised tremendously!
Mother Goose rhymes are common way to introduce rhyming skills, but did you know that all of the popular Mother Goose rhymes have been set to music?
Here is an example:
And here is a link to the song on YouTube:
These melodies are generally not copyrighted and, therefore, can be found with a quick search on the Internet. (Make sure you use the phrase "sheet music" in your search if you are looking for actual written music.) We have also found them in books at my local library.
We decided to take the magic of rhyming words a step further and bring in a visual component by creating Rhyming Cards. This Sing of Song of Sixpence set is available for FREE in my store. Download it and see how it works for you!
My preschool students have loved using rhyming cards for lots of different songs. These cards are also available in our Music and Movement Teachers Pay Teachers Store.
Here are a few more available for purchase:
Happy singing, happy rhyming, happy reading!
Tuesday, July 30, 2019
10 Free Tips to a Better Music and Movement Class
Are you looking for ways to improve your Music and Movement Class so yours is the best class on the block? Take a look at our helpful hints that will be sure to have students and parents knocking on your door for more!
1. Don't use a music CD as a crutch. Your students want to hear your voice! Plus, when you sing the song you can customize it to your class.
2. Repeat songs throughout your course so the students can learn them.
3. Don't try to squeeze in too many songs into one class. Children learn best by taking things at a slower pace and pausing for extra instruction.
4. Tap into all the senses during the class. This will help your students learn more effectively.
5. Introduce your students to basic musical concepts, such as tempo, beat, rhythm and dynamics.
6. Use a variety of instruments and implement a variety of activities in the lessons.
7. Don't sing too fast! Little brains process things slower than grown-up brains.
8. Embed appropriate child developmental skills in class, such a motor, literacy, academic, social, cognitive and linguistic skills.
9. Plan your class ahead of time - don't just wing it! It makes for a better class and a focused teacher.
10. Introduce your students to a variety of music, not just the same kid songs we use day in and day out. (Wheels on the Bus for the 100th time sound familiar?) Expose them to folk songs, international music, classical pieces, nursery rhymes, and chants. There is so much amazing and beautiful music out there just waiting to be taught to your students!
You can have the BEST Music and Movement Class around by implementing these tips as you teach from My Music and Movement Class curriculum. This curriculum is available at a fraction of the price of other music and movement programs and can be downloaded instantly. Get a free lesson plan and printable at:
My Music and Movement Class
My Music and Movement Class
or go directly to our Teachers Pay Teachers store:
My Music and Movement Class at Teachers Pay Teachers
My Music and Movement Class at Teachers Pay Teachers
Monday, July 22, 2019
How I Opened My Own Music and Movement Studio and Made Extra Income
Hi! If you're reading this you're interested in how I opened my own Music and Movement Studio and made extra income for my family.
But first, let me rewind to my first full-time job out of college. I was working as an Early Childhood Educator in a center for young children with special needs and volunteered to teach a Kindermusik class to our students. I completed the required Kindermusik training that cost hundreds of dollars (thankfully paid for by my employer) and taught two classes a week for several years. Kindermusik is a wonderful program and made teaching so easy. After my employer purchased one of the Kindermusik curriculum, all I had to do was learn the music and review the lesson plan before teaching.
Fast forward many years later and I'm a stay-at-home mother of three young children and, with my husband in school again, in desperate need of extra income. I was able to begin teaching a Music and Movement class at a friend's home daycare where I was paid by the children's parents to teach a weekly class. I would have loved to have been a Kindermusik instructor again but was not able to pay the Kindermusik fees and still make a profit. So I spent hours creating my own lessons: collecting music, planning activities, and carefully selecting the order in which I introduced then repeated songs. As a result of my work, and my previous Kindermusik training, I taught high-quality classes that the children loved and parents were thrilled with. I later began teaching the same class at a local homeschool
co-op. Again, my previous Kindermusik training and my own well-planned, educational lessons made the class a great success.
And as we speak, I have a space reserved in my basement for a home-based studio when the time is right!
So why does my story matter to you? I want YOU to have the same success as I had: success at teaching an outstanding Music and Movement Class in my own studio, success at doing something I love, success at owning my own business, and success at adding to my family's income.
To make that happen, I started a business offering one of my professional curricula,
Singing Whales and Mermaid Tails.
This curriculum includes 12 lessons chock-full full of music, songs, finger-plays, and activities.
And for only $35!
Why is this an amazing offer?
Well, for example, Kindermusik currently charges the following fees:
$50 non-refundable application fee
$349 training fee
$59.95 monthly licensing fee
And many other Music and Movement Programs are similar! Yikes! An expense like this does not work for someone like myself.
So if you're interested in what my business has to offer - a professional, high-quality curriculum inspired by years of Kindermusik teaching that will save you HOURS of prep work - please visit my website at:
or go directly to my Teachers Pay Teachers store at:
★★ My Credentials ★★
Bachelor's Degree in Family and Child Development
Master's Degree in Early Childhood Special Education
16 years of work experience in early childhood education, piano instruction, and Music and Movement class instruction
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Let's talk about how to make an amazing Circle Time in your early childhood classroom! An effective Circle Time at the beginning of ... -
Music and Numbers In a previous post , we discussed the relationship between music and reading and how that relationship is processed ... -
Are you looking for ways to improve your Music and Movement Class so yours is the best class on the block? Take a look at our helpful h...